Environmental education

Under the tenet that pro-environmental behaviour and everyday choices are at least as important as the environmental solutions implemented in buildings, the Bank runs numerous educational environmental campaigns.  The organization is consistently building environmental awareness among its employees, clients and business partners by running the following campaigns in 2021, among others:

• Push Yourself, Not the Button Campaign – encouraging head office employees in Warsaw to use the stairs instead of the elevators. All of the elevator banks in the head office have posters advancing the campaign for leading a healthy lifestyle and choosing the stairs instead of the elevator as they move about on a daily basis. On top of the fundamental goal of building the well-being of employees, this campaign also aimed to minimize electricity consumption.
• Polish Green Record Campaign – Bank Millennium has joined the environmental campaign #ZielonyRekord to break the Polish Green Record. In five of our buildings, new greenery and trees have been planted, and new office plants have been added in our upgraded office spaces. The Bank has received a certificate for its participation and exceptional involvement in the campaign.
• Collection of electric waste and expanding the reach and duration of the environmental charitable campaign involving the recycling of plastic bottle caps collected in the Bank (the non-governmental organization cooperating with the Bank sells them as a recyclable raw material and it designates the proceeds obtained to help the poor).
• Advancing the usage of reusable packaging by distributing ceramic mugs to all employees in the head office in Wrocław to reduce the quantity of waste.
• Plants in the office. Lots of plants are used in all newly-commissioned office space, which exerts a positive influence on the atmosphere in the office and the eco-climate.
• Advising on changes to waste collection (marketing campaigns, new containers for selective waste with the right logo). New containers are located in the main corridors on every floor in the office. Containers for paper and mixed waste can also be found in kitchen annexes.
• Most branches segregate waste. In the first half of 2021 the containers for waste segregated in outlets and financial centres across Poland were replaced.
• In addition, the Bank segregates other waste, e.g. expended batteries and it collects electrical waste. In 2021 the Bank collected 200 kg of electric waste, 150 kg of batteries and 230 kg of plastic bottle tops delivered by Bank employees.
• The coffee shop on the premises of the Bank’s Head Office in Warsaw has discontinued the use of plastic straws, paper packaging for sugar and plastic packaging for sandwiches, while the staff recommends using your own mugs and dishes.
• Bicycle transport is encouraged and the infrastructure for cyclists is being expanded (additional bicycle racks and showers). In 2021 employees received the possibility of using another six showers installed in Warsaw and four in Wrocław. More than 80 bicycle racks were also added in the new head office in Wrocław. In 2021 the Bank installed bicycle racks for 46 bicycles in its own buildings.

Bank Millennium has been a long-term patron of the Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival, which informs viewers of many phenomena transpiring in the contemporary world and educates them through the films shown and the events accompanying the Festival. In 2021 the festival was highly focused on the theme of climate change.

The leading motto of the 18th edition of the festival – “The World Awakens” was taken from Greta Thunberg’s speech. She is one of the most important environmental activists and the protagonist in the festival’s opening film entitled “I am Greta”. Additionally, in the summer of 2021 the Millennium Docs Against Gravity Festival ran an educational campaign entitled “The Planet Is Not Available for Credit” in social media channels jointly with WWF Polska and the Noizz.pl portal to build awareness among their users about what the Day of Environmental Debt entails. During this campaign, the “Greta’s 5 Steps” campaign – a list of steps to defer environmental debt – was announced.

A spot prepared by the Bank aired during the 18th edition of the Festival before films are shown in cinemas and online touches on the aspect of the actions undertaken by Bank Millennium for the sake of sustainable development.